Frequently Asked Questions

To access completed e-PAS documents, all staff and managers have to write to their local HR office to obtain a copy. All e-PAS documents will be migrated to inspira in due course.

SLWOP will have an impact on the education grant entitlement and all other allowances and benefits. “Without pay” refers to any and all types of payments. No allowance, benefit or entitlement is payable. The education grant will, therefore, also not be paid during periods of SLWOP. If the staff member is on SLWOP for a period shorter than the full school year for the education grant, then that grant will be prorated accordingly to take the period of leave into account.

SLWOP will have an impact on rental subsidy. “Without pay” refers to any and all types of payments. No allowance, benefit or entitlement is payable. Rental subsidy will, therefore, also not be paid during periods of SLWOP

The conditions under which special leave may be granted to a staff member vary. The table which is attached summarizes the conditions for requesting special leave, which are reviewed individually and take both the Organization’s and the staff member’s interests into account.

This summary illustrates different modalities of special leave with full, partial or without pay. The list of requirements is not exhaustive; and it should be noted that the Staff Regulations, Rules, and governing Administrative Issuances prevail in all instances.

The official R & R destination is normally a location nearby the duty station that is suitable for R & R purposes in terms of cost and convenience of transportation. The Organization’s designation of rest and recuperation destinations takes into consideration the availability of United Nations transportation.

The R & R destinations, as well as the R & R designations and cycles, will be determined by an interagency group comprised of representatives from the UN and the UN agencies, funds and programmes with a field presence.

Where the UN provides free transportation from the duty station approved for rest and recuperation purposes to the designated rest and recuperation destination and the staff member decides to travel to an alternative destination, there will be no payment expenses by the Organization.

Where UN transportation does not exist and the staff member chooses to travel to a location other than the official R&R destination, the staff member may still receive the air ticket to the designated destination.

The Organization will pay for travel on R & R by the least expensive and most direct route from the duty station to the designated place of rest and recuperation. The Organization may purchase a ticket or provide a lump sum equivalent to the air ticket price. Where a staff member chooses to go to a destination different to the designated location for R & R, the financial liability of the Organization will be equal to the cost of the air ticket to the designated location.

• There are now more staff in the field serving in family duty stations. In some duty stations, there was the discrepancy whereby, in some locations, staff serving with UN agencies, funds and programmes or other UN offices could bring their families but staff serving with field missions in the same location could not. Before 1 July 2011, only about 10 % of the posts in peacekeeping and special political missions (about 680) were in family duty stations. As of 1 July 2011 this increased to approximately 30 % of the posts (over 2,000) in missions. Staff who have eligible dependents (i.e.

A new administrative instruction on “Rental subsidies and deductions” (ST/AI/2013/2), is now available which introduces a more streamlined process in addition to more specific eligibility requirements.

Various key changes have been established in advance of the increasingly automated procedures that Umoja is starting to bring as the new system is gradually implemented throughout the UN Secretariat.

What are some key changes to the policy?

Application process